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Review: Turn Coat by Jim Butcher, Dresden Files series

August 6th, 2009 | Book Review, Books, Detective or mystery, Paranormal 

Jim Butcher has another hit on his hands with his latest in the Dresden Files series, Turn Coat. Once again, Harry Dresden, the last wizard in Chicago is pitting his wits against the dark forces marshaled against him and the White Council. This is book 11 in the series, so if you like a good series, this is one to really consider.

The White Council of Wizards [is] the governing body for the practice of magic in the world, and made up of its most powerful practitioners…God help the poor practitioner who broke one of the Laws. p 8

I admire the way Butcher has constructed an entire universe around more or less believable lines. We have Harry, the wizard detective, with his loyal cohorts: the fairies (with courageous Toot toot again); the pack of werewolves; even a sort of alignment with Lara, the scary vampire queen of the White Court, the ‘better’ vamps. We can be pretty sure Harry survives in each book, even if it is by the skin of his teeth, but that is at least one thing we do not need to worry about.

And since I’m not expecting the Never Never land to open up, I’m not worried about the rest of the dark forces showing up some day or night either. So it is pure (that’s an oxymoron) escapism, with lots of clever dialogue and clever thoughts in the narration voice of Harry, who has been compared to Phillip Marlowe, and twists and turns, and always a hanging end at the end because, after all, the fight with evil never ends…and there is a next book.

I understand there was a TV series, which I never saw as I didn’t learn about it until after I started reading the series. I wish they had made a movie out of each book instead, as they are doing with Twilight and with Harry Potter. Perhaps they will do this in the future. I’d be first in line to buy tickets.

Harry is thrown into the deep end when Morgan, the Warden who has been sure Harry should be curtailed (dead) shows up on his threshold covered with blood, asking Harry to hide him from the Council. He has been charged with murder, having been caught with the bloody knife in his hand. Of course, in getting away he has killed several other Wardens, and the Council of Wardens are understandably after him. Harry knows a bit about being unjustly targeted, so he takes him in, against the better judgment of anyone who knows him.

There is a mole in the Council. Can he or she be found?

And then there’s his brother (half-brother) Thomas, the vamp who runs a salon instead of running the night, who is taken by an especially powerful and evil shapeshifter. Not everyone knows that Thomas is Harry’s brother, so there is some consternation at how much Harry undertakes to get him back.

There is just such an interesting mix of characters. It doesn’t take long to figure out who the cast is and how they fit, and even to care about them and to wonder what’s next. I don’t think it is necessary to read the books in order. Frankly, book 1 is probably my least fave and I read it about 3rd.

Butcher has an ability to write really interesting fight/war scenes with a lot of paranormal thrown in. This is Harry Potter grown up and to the nth.

Have you read any of these books?
This is a series I’d like to own (and reread) for the pithy dialogue and interesting insights into human nature. I can’t say that about many books.

Have you ever listened to any of the series?
I would love to hear an audio book, assuming there are some. Yes! there is:

I wonder who the reader is. James Marsters — hmmm, who is he. I’m going to have to check one out.

Get thee down to your nearest library and check the book out. (It’s in modern dialogue, even if that last sentence is not.)

My take: I rate it a 4 out of 4.
Karin

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Book Review, Books, Detective or mystery, Paranormal



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